France’s Environment Minister, Monique Barbut, has resigned after lawmakers approved a bill that allows the return of two controversial pesticides linked to the decline of bee populations.
Barbut announced on Wednesday that she would submit her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, saying the government failed to honour its commitment to allow proper debate on the measure.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn, she accused the government of blocking discussions on removing the controversial provision from the bill.
“This is one environmental setback too many,” she said, adding that politics was not the world she wanted to be part of if such decisions were made without open debate.
Barbut previously served as head of WWF France and as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
On Tuesday, the French parliament passed an agriculture bill permitting the conditional use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, two pesticides that environmental groups say are harmful to bees.
Under the new law, France’s health and safety agency, Anses, will decide whether the pesticides can be authorised under specific conditions.
Supporters of the bill argue that the chemicals are necessary to help French sugar beet, apple and hazelnut farmers compete with producers in other European countries, where the pesticides are still allowed.
Opponents, however, warn that the pesticides could threaten bee populations and pose potential risks to human health.
Barbut noted that France banned acetamiprid in 2016 under the precautionary principle because of scientific concerns at the time.
She said recent studies have continued to raise questions about the pesticide’s impact on both human health and the environment, rather than easing those concerns.
The legislation comes despite a 2025 ruling by France’s Constitutional Council, which rejected an earlier attempt to bring back acetamiprid over possible health risks. That decision followed a petition signed by more than two million people opposing its reintroduction.
